Apparatus for making dentures.



No. 786,279. 0 PATENTED APR. 4, 1905.

e. P. FRANKLIN. APPARATUS FOR MAKING DENTURES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR; %W Z a 0/P6f/9f/P14/VfiU/K G. P. FRANKLIN.-

PATENTED APR; 4, 1906.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING DEN'I'URES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1903.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

Patented April 4, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. FRANKLIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING DENTURES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 86,27 9, dated April4, 1905.

Application filed April '7, 1903. Serial No. 151,444.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. FRANKLIN, of Philadelphia, in the State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Making Dentures, whereof the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

It is the general object of my invention to combine with a dental flaskof improved construction certain devices whereby the flask may be packedand discharged more conveniently and with less expenditure of time andlabor than is required in the employment of ordinary apparatus of thisclass.

It is necessary to provide a dental flask with means to insure that theseparable members thereof shall be maintained in registry during thevulcanizing operation, and as ordinarily constructed the drag and copemembers of dental flasks are provided for this purpose with projectingdowel-pins or lugs and complementary apertures or recesses, which insurethat the members shall also approach each other in a predetermineddirection in closing the flask over the plaster cast or model. Suchordinary alining devices are in some cases so disposed that the membersmust approach each other in a perpendicular direction and in other casesin an oblique direction from front to rear of the flask; but in everyflask heretofore known the movement of approach of its members islimited to a single plane, so that extreme care and repeated trials arenecessary to close a flask inclosing a full denture model or castwithout fracturing the latter or disturbing the relative positions ofthe light and dark colored rubber strips placed therein. Of course ifsuch disturbance occurs the darker base-rubber penetrates through thelighter facing-rubber in spots and defaces the completed denture.Therefore it is one object of my improvements to provide a flask whoseseparable members comprise peculiarly-shaped projecting lugs andcomplementary recesses, which while insuring the precise registry ofsaid members when closed permit of their free movement both laterallyand longitudinally during their approach. The advantage of such anarrangement is that the greatest facility is afforded to the operator inthe manipulation of the flask members to properly close the same withoutthe aforesaid difficulties.

Ordinary dental flasks are not provided with any means by which they maybe secured in stationary position while being packed or be manipulatedwhile hot from the vulcanizing operation, and therefore muchinconvenience and loss of time is experienced both in packing anddischarging such flasks. My present improvements are advantageous inthat they provide a flask with a removable handle, which not onlyaffords means for the operator to remove the flask from the vulcanizerand conveniently manipulate it while hot, but also serves to positivelysecure the flask in stationary position with respect to a supportingbracket-plate both before and after the vulcanizing operation, and thusfacilitates both of the operations of packing and discharging the flask.

The construction of an ordinary flask is such that it must be fullypacked with rubber before it is closed, and it is frequently necessaryto several times readjust the rubber fragments before the flask can beproperly closed. Moreover, it is found necessary in the employment ofsuch a flask to provide channels for the escape of any surplus rubberwhich might otherwise distort the denture during the vulcanizingoperation, and much time is expended in cutting such channels inregistry with each other in the opposed members of the plaster cast. Myimprovements provide a flask which may be closed when only partiallypacked, and consequently without difficulty, inasmuch as the flaskcomprises an aperture through which it may be fully charged with rubberafter it has been properly closed, and a packing device is provided toaugment the charge of rubber through said aperture at any desiredpressure.

My invention comprehends the various novel features of construction andarrangement hereinafter more definitely specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a sectional plan view of thepacking-frame, showing its relation to the flask, only the drag memberof the latter being shown. Fig. II

tion with said nozzle.

is a plan view of the flask-holder conveniently mounted on a work-bench.Fig. III is a sectional view taken on the line 11]. III in Fig. II,showing the flask secured on said holder by its removable handle. Fig.1V is a fragmentary sectional view of the flask, taken on the line 1V 1Vin Fig. 11. Fig. V is a fragmentary sectional view of the flask, takenon the line V V in Fig. II.

In said figures the flask 1 comprises three separable members-the drag2, the cope 3, and the lid 4. The conical inlet-aperture 5 extendsthrough the wall of the flask l, and its axis being in the same plane asthe parting-line between the cope and drag members said aperture existspartly in each of said members. The drag 2 is provided with triangularpyramidal lugs 6, having their exterior surfaces perpendicular to thepartingline between the drag and cope, and the latter comprises recesses7, complementary to said lugs 6. The peculiar form of the lugs 6 andrecesses 7 permits free oscillation of the cope and drag both laterallyand longitudinally during their approach, but insures their preciseregistry when closed together. The lid 4 is provided with the lugs 8,having grooves 9 to engage the plaster within the cope 3 to retain thelid 4 in proper position before the flask is closed. The screws 10 serveto secure the drag 2, cope 3, and lid 4 in closed position, beingentered through smooth apertures 11 and 12 in the lid and cope andscrewed in threaded apertures 13 in the drag. The bottom wall of thedrag 2 also comprises a screw-threaded socket '15, in which the threadedshank 16 of the handle 17 may be detachably engaged to convenientlymanipulate the flask 1 or secure it in stationary position in theflask-holder, comprising the bracket-plate 19, provided with the annularflange and the radial slot 21. The flask and handle being entered insaid. flaskholder, as shown in Fig. 111, may be rigidly secured thereinby screwing said handle-shank 16 into said socket 15 until the shoulder18 of said shank firmly engages the under surface of said plate 19, saidshonlder 18 being of greater width than the radial slot 21. As shown inFig. II, said flask-holder plate 19 comprises slots 23, adapted todetachably engage screws 24, so as to be removably secured in connectionwith the work bench or table 25.

The annular packing-frame 28 is adapted to receive the flask 1, asindicated in Fig. I, and is provided with the cylinder 29, whose conicalnozzle 30 is fitted to the aperture 5 in the flask. The wall of theflask opposite to said aperture 5 is provided with a seat 31 for theset-screw 32, which latter is in threaded engagement with said frame,and by which said flask may be maintained in proper rela- Said cylinder29 is provided with a piston 34, which is adapted to be reciprocated bythe screw-threaded piston-rod 35 in swiveled connection therewith at 36.Said rod 35 is provided with an operating-handle 38 and is in threadedengagement with the yoke 39, which is permanently secured to the frame28.

The apparatus above described is conveniently employed as follows: Aplaster model or cast having been properly set in the flask 1, withopposed plaster-mold members formed therein, the drag member of theflask is se cured in rigid relation with the flask-holder 19 by thehandle 17, as indicated in Fig. II. The gum-cavity in said mold membersis then lined with strips or fragments of pink facingrubber backed withthe usual red or black base rubber, and the mold-cavity being packedabout two-thirds full the flask is closed and secured by the screws 10,as indicated in Fig. 111. Thereupon suflicient rubber is introduced tothe cylinder 29 to completely pack the flask, and the latter beingentered in the annular frame 28 in registry with the cylinder nozzle 30and clamped therein by the set-screw 32, as indicated in Fig. 1, thehandle 38 is then rotated until the piston 34 injects the rubber fromthe cylinder 29 into the cavity of the flask until the latter iscompletely packed at any desired pressure. The packing-frame being thenreleased from the flask 1, the handle 17 is detached from the flask byunscrewing its shank 16 from the socket 15, and the flask is depositedin the vulcanizer. WVhen the vulcanizing operation is completed, the hotflask may be conveniently manipulated, by connecting the handle 17therewith, as above described, and said flask may be again firmlysecured on the holder 19, so as to be conveniently opened and unpackedwhile hot, if desired.

It is to be observed that by reason of the peculiar construction andarrangement of the projecting lugs and complementary recesses in myimproved flask above described the latter may be employed with especialadvantage in flasking models of full dentures characterized by prominentfrontal alveolus, which in ordinary flasks necessitate much loss oftimeand labor to obtain a proper closure of the flask without disturbingthe desired relation of the facing-rubber, &c. However, the peculiarconstruction described is of advantage in the flasking of any kind of amodel in view of the facility which it affords for oscillating themembers of the flask both laterally and longitudinally during theirapproach, so as to accommodate the closing movement of the flask membersto any irregularities of contour of the mold or of the rubber inclosedtherein. The provision of means to complete the packing of the flask inthe peculiar manner described after the flask is closed not onlyfacilitates the operation of packing and lessens the time required forthe same, but also insures that the proper amount of rubber shall beintroduced at the desired pressure without the necessity of makinglateral channels in the plaster-mold members for the overflow of surplusrubber, which channels are required in the use of ordinary flasks. It isalso to be noted that the provision of a detachable handle for the flasknot only facilitates the flasking operation by affording means forsecuring the flask in convenient stationary position with respect to thework bench or table, but also saves the time of the operator heretoforewasted in awaiting the cooling of the flask after the vulcanizingoperation, inasmuch as said handle permits the flask to be readilymanipulated while hot.

I do not desire to limit myself to the precise details of constructionand arrangement herein set forth, as it is obvious that variousmodifications may be made therein without departing from the essentialfeatures of my invention.

I clairn 1. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with aflask member provided with lugs of triangular cross-section; of a flaskmember provided with recesses complementary to said lugs; said lugs andrecesses being shaped and arranged to permit lateral and longitudinaloscillation of said members with respect to each other during theirapproach, and to insure their precise registry when closed; and, meansto secure said members in closed relation, substantially as set forth.

2. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with a flask memberprovided with projecting lugs which are triangular in cross-section andtapering toward their free extremities; of a flask member provided withrecesses complementary to said lugs; and, means to secure said membersin closed relation, substantially as set forth.

3. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with a flaskcomprising separable cope and drag members and a conical apertureexisting partly in the cope member and partly in the drag member; ofmeans to secure said members in closed relation; a packing-frame adaptedto receive said flask; a packing-cylinder mounted in said frame andprovided with a conical nozzle fitted to said aperture; a setserew insaid frame, opposed to said nozzle and arranged to maintain said nozzlein registry with said aperture; and, apiston provided with ascrew-threaded piston-rod engaged with said frame and arranged toreciprocate in said cylinder, substantially as set forth.

4. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with a flaskprovided upon one side with an aperture extending through its wall. andupon the opposite side with a seat for a set-screw; of an annularpacking-frame arranged to receive said flask; a cylinder mounted in saidframe and provided with a nozzle fitted to said flask-aperture; asetscrew in said frame opposed to said nozzle and arranged to maintainsaid nozzle in registry with said aperture; and, a piston mounted insaid frame to reciprocate in said cylinder, substantially as set forth.

5. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with separablecope, drag and lid members of a flask, having a conical apertureextending partly in the drag member, and partly in the cope member; saiddrag member being provided with triangular lugs on its side walls and ascrew-threaded socket in its bottom wall; said lid member being providedwith plaster-engaging lugs, and said cope member being provided withrecesses complementary to said drag-lugs; of means to secure saidmembers in closed relation; a handle provided with a screw-threadedshank; a shoulder on said shank; a bracket-plate, comprising openingsfor attaching means, an annular flange and a radial slot extendingfromthe center to the circumference of said flange; said slot being of lesswidth at its inner end than the shoulder on said handle, and beingarranged to receive the latter; a packingframe arranged to receive saidflask; a packing-cylinder provided with a conical nozzle fitted to saidconical aperture in the flask; a set-screw opposed to said nozzle andarranged to engage said flask in registry therewith; a piston arrangedto reciprocate within said cylinder; a screw-threaded piston-rod inthreadedengagement with said frame in rotary engagement with saidpiston; and a handle upon said piston-rod, substantially as set forth.

6. In apparatus for making dentures, the combination with a flask memberprovided with projecting lugs of triangular cross-section; of a secondflask member provided with recesses complementary to the lugs of saidfirst flask member; a third flask member provided with plaster-engaginglugs extending within one of said flask members; and, means to securesaid members in closed relation, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, at Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, this 24th day of March, 1903.

GEORGE P. FRANKLIN.

- Witnesses ARTHUR E. PAIGE, A. F. GE'rzFRnAn.

